RSCN’s training for staff of Socotra Archipelago Reserve in Yemen concludes

AMMAN — The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) on Monday handed out certificates to the staff of the Yemeni Socotra Archipelago Reserve, who participated in an intensive training programme, which reflected RSCN’s experience in maintaining protected areas.

The 18-day-long training workshop, aimed to equip its participants with “a solid understanding and capacity to achieve integrated management and conservation of nature”, according to an RSCN statement sent to The Jordan Times.

The workshop was part of the second phase of the sustainable management programme for the conservation of nature and the promotion of sustainable development in the Yemeni island of Socotra, which is currently being implemented by the RSCN in the archipelago after the signing of an agreement with the UNEP, according to the statement.

During the certificate distribution ceremony, Undersecretary of the Yemeni Ministry of Water and Environment Ammar Al Olki hailed the Jordanian experience in conserving protected areas, noting that “the RSCN is considered to be a unique model in the area of reserves conservation”.

Furthermore, he added that after observing Jordan’s legislative acts protecting the environment, it is imperative to review the legislation with regard to reserve management in Yemen.

Previously, RSCN Director General Yehya Khaled told The Jordan Times over the phone that the programme focuses on four main components including: The development of capacity to manage the island’s protected areas in a complementary manner, the protection of Socotra’s endemic species from invasive ones, the implementation of integrated land use plan, in addition to developing the efficiency of the protected areas.

“We are very excited about the project, especially given that Socotra is considered as one of the 10 most important islands known for their exceptional biodiversity,” Khaled said.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times on Wednesday, Haifa Said, programme’s officer for women’s empowerment in environment, said that RSCN’s model in encouraging Jordanian women’s participation is among the main reasons why the Jordanian experience is “unique and strong”.

Director of RSCN’s Biodiversity Watch Centre Nash’at Hmeidan said: “We made sure that Yemeni participants visited the Kingdom’s reserves that are run by the RSCN,” to develop their field experience, through observing RSCN’s experience in maintaining protected areas.

The workshop included lectures on protected areas management and integrated planning, the role of research and monitoring programmes in protected areas’ management guidance, species conservation plans, in addition to other topics related to protecting and maintaining protected areas, according to the RSCN.